CBCA2103 Computer Architecture

FACULTY OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY & MULTIMEDIA COMMUNICATION

SEMESTER 3 / 2011

CBCA2103

COMPUTER ARCHITECTURE

CBCA2103 Computer Architecture

Table of Content
1. Introduction 2. Objective 3. Content 3.1 The CPU 3.2 Storage subsystem 3.3 Motherboard and peripherals 3.4 System Memory 3.5 Sound Subsystem 3.6 Video subsystem 3.7 Operating system 4. Problem Identification and Suggestion 5. Advantage and Disadvantage 6. Summarization and Conclusion 7. Appendices 4 5 5 6 6 7 8 10 10 11 12 3 3

CBCA2103 Computer Architecture

1. Introduction
Great advancement in the field of science and technology has resulted into the invention of numerous devices, which have made our life easy and comfortable. Among the devices, which are widely used in the present time, is computer. Indeed computer has become basis need of modern people. There is a symbol of modernity. Computers are useful in business, in education and home. Computer has made it easier for people to communicate in addition to saving time and money. Nowadays, computer has been transform to the next level where become a medium for entertainment purpose such as playing video clips, hearing music, playing games and more. The technology of computer has increased rapidly over the ICT market over the world, and almost every day we can be exposing with new technology of this computer world. Selecting a suitable system of computer is very important based on the purpose of the usage. Some people like high end system to perform certain activities, such as playing games, do some image enhancement and multimedia work. Maybe average budget systems which can perform moderate task such as do office work. It depend on the user itself on how their want the system to be.

2. Objective
For this assignment I am choosing to build a gaming computer system which is absolutely high-end product. Todays PC games and computer intense applications need a computing platform that delivers maximum multi-threaded CPU support and eye-popping graphics support. First we have to know what the output demand from the system is. No wonder we need a better result on high quality resolution, graphic acceleration, 3D (third dimensional) output with outstanding graphic and sound quality, and also the durability (temperature, power, life-time).To obtain all this requirement have figure up the greatest machine ever had which is Area 51 ALX Desktop. This is the most powerful Alienware Desktop ever built by the company named DELL. Even though this PC (Personal Computer) has been built by this company, but the internal components are from various well-known manufacturer such as Intel, NVDIA, Kingston and many more.

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3. Content
3.1 The CPU A CPU (Central Processing Unit) controls the functions of most electronic products. The CPU accepts the input data, processes the information and sends it to the component that is in charge of executing the action.CPU size refers to the unit's power to perform tasks and the amount of memory space it contains. 16-bit and 32-bit have become the standard CPU size and can be found in personal computers, laptops, cell phones and other electronic devices that can perform a variety of tasks. 64-bit CPUs are becoming increasingly popular in high-end personal computers and laptops.

Area 51 ALX Desktop comes with Intel Core i7-980X Processor Extreme Edition CPU. This CPU (Central Processing Unit) is powered by Intel Corporation. i7 is the upgrade of Core 2 Duo processor. With the clock speed equals to 3.33GHz, it can perform any activities within a short time. Clock speed like a stopwatch, clock speed measures how fast a processor performs an activity which activity depends upon how we plan to use our computer. Clock speed rates are shown in gigahertz (GHz), which means a billion cycles per second. This CPU has 6 cores. Multi-core processors are single chips that contain two or more distinct processors or execution cores in the same integrated circuit. Multi-threading allows each core to work on two tasks at once, thereby letting us do more things simultaneously, producing faster, more efficient results. So the computer can keep up with even perform heaviest multitasking.

One more scope to determine the speed of CPU is based on cache. Intel Core i7980X Processor Extreme Edition has 12 MB Smart Cache inside it. Cache is a fast storage area where the processor places frequently accessed data. Intel Smart Cache is Intels performance-maximized data storage, which allows each processor core to dynamically utilize up to 100% of available cache and obtain data from the cache at higher throughput rates. By keeping more data closer to the processor for fast execution, overall performance is improved. This is of particular benefit when running rich media titles and games, as well as everyday productivity applications.

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3.2 Storage subsystem How about the storage subsystem? Area 51 ALX Desktop has been designed for fastest data accessing time period. There are 2 types of main storage for this PC, which are SSD (Solid-State Drive) and 3.5 Inch SATA drive. The primary storage, Intels X25-M SSD by Intel Corporation, is the current industry standard holding the title as one of the best flash storage drives in the world. With capacity 160GB, it will store the Operating System for Area 51 ALX Desktop. This drives sustained sequential write up to 100MB/s, it will reduce the time to load the Operating System and accessing time of the current duty. This drive also can perform RAID (Redundant Array of Independent Disks) system which is RAID 0. A RAID 0 (also known as a stripe set or striped volume) splits data evenly across two or more disks (striped) with no parity information for redundancy. RAID 0 was not one of the original RAID levels and provides no data redundancy. RAID 0 is normally used to increase performance, although it can also be used as a way to create a small number of large virtual disks out of a large number of small physical ones. The second storage; the miscellaneous storage is to keep all the data from users. For examples are games files, music, video clips or images. Area 51 ALX Desktop has selected WD Caviar Black 2 TB SATA Hard Drives (WD2002FAEX) which is manufacture by Western Digital. The capacity of storage is 2 TB with 7200 RPM rotational speed. Also, preconfigured as RAID 0; it will increase the performance of this hard disk itself.

3.3 Motherboard and peripherals This motherboard; The Intel Desktop Board DX58SO by Intel Corporation has been selected to be the platform for all the other components and peripherals (Input/output) to communicate to each other. Intel DX58SO uses the Intel ICH10R south bridge chip, which supports six SATA-300 ports with RAID 0, 1, 10 and 5. In addition to these ports, Intel DX58SO has two eSATA-300 ports on the rear panel, controlled by a Marvell 88SE6121 chip. This motherboard has one Gigabit Ethernet port, which is controlled by the south bridge using one small chip (Intel 82567LM) to make the physical layer interface. This motherboard has 12 USB 2.0 ports with eight of them soldered on the rear panel. This motherboard also has two FireWire (IEEE1394) ports controlled by a Texas 5

CBCA2103 Computer Architecture

Instruments TSB43AB22A chip, with one soldered on the rear panel and another available through an I/O bracket. On the connectivity side this motherboard also supports infrared transmitter and receiver, which dont come with the board.

3.4 System Memory Ram (Random Access Memory) is the most common computer memory which can be used by programs to perform necessary tasks while the computer is on; an integrated circuit memory chip allows information to be stored or accessed in any order and all storage locations are equally accessible. To run a better performance games, we need to concern the capacity of ram to ensure the games is run smoothly without any lagged. It because during the run of the game, there is huge amount of information that need to stored. So in order to meet the requirement, Area 51 ALX Desktop has been equipped with Kingston's KHX1600C9D3K3/12GX. This model is manufacture by Kingston. HyperX DDR3 memory; the latest generation of DDR memory technology. Like all Kingston HyperX products, DDR3 modules are specifically engineered and designed to meet the rigorous requirements of PC enthusiasts. DDR3 memory offers faster speeds, lower latencies, higher data bandwidths and lower power consumption than DDR2. Kingston's KHX1600C9D3K3/12GX is a kit of three 12M x 64-bit 4GB (4096MB) DDR3-1600MHz CL9 SDRAM(Synchronous DRAM) memory modules, based on sixteen 256M x 8-bit DDR3 FBGA components per module. Each module kit supports Intel XMP (Extreme Memory Profiles). Total kit capacity is 12GB. Each module kit has been tested to run at DDR3-1600MHz at a low latency timing of 9-9-9-27 at 1.65V. The SPDs are programmed to JEDEC standard latency DDR3-1333MHz timing of 9-9-9 at 1.5V.

3.5 Sound Subsystem This motherboard is come with Intel High Definition sound subsystem. With 10channel (7.1) Dolby Home Theater Audio subsystem with five analog audio outputs and two S/PDIF digital audio outputs (coaxial and optical) uses the Realtek ALC889 audio codec. The special about this sound subsystem is it is built in component attached with motherboard. Talking about 10 channel systems, it is totally surrounded sound which 6

CBCA2103 Computer Architecture

resulted better quality of sound. Surround sound encompasses a range of techniques such as for enriching the sound reproduction quality of an audio source with audio channels reproduced via additional, discrete speakers. Surround sound is characterized by a listener location or sweet spot where the audio effects work best, and presents a fixed or forward perspective of the sound field to the listener at this location. Realtek ALC889 audio codec is developed by Realtek Industry. The ALC889 is a high-performance multichannel High Definition Audio Codec with Realtek proprietary loss-less content protection technology that protects pre-recorded content while still allowing full-rate audio enjoyment from DVD audio, Blue-ray DVD, or HD DVD discs. ALC889 provides the highest sound quality, providing an excellent entertainment package and game experience for PC users.

3.6 Video subsystem Graphic card is the other component which is very important to build the gaming PC. Graphic card is an expansion card whose function is to generate output images to a display. Many video cards offer added functions, such as accelerated rendering of 3D scenes and 2D graphics. Area 51 ALX Desktop has choosing GeForce GTX 580 for the graphic presentation. This graphic card using GPU (Graphic Processing Unit) with 772 MHz graphic clock and 1544 MHz processor clock. NVIDIA CUDA technology allows the GPU cores to provide performance improvements for applications such as video transcoding, gaming, ray tracing, and physics. There are many features support by this card such as NVDIA SLI Ready, NVIDIA 3D Vision Ready, NVIDIA 3D Vision Surround Ready, NVIDIA PureVideo Technology, NVIDIA PhysX-ready, and many more. It has huge memory capacity which is 1536 MB GDDR5. This graphic card can support HD (High Definition) system and output resolution up to 2560x1600. The SLI (Scalable Link Interface) technology is a brand name for a multi-GPU solution developed by NVIDIA for linking two or more video cards together to produce a single output. SLI is an application of parallel processing for computer graphics, meant to increase the processing power available for graphics. In order to activate the SLI, Area 51 ALX Desktop has used 2 units of GeForce GTX 580 graphic card for extreme performance while running the games. 7

CBCA2103 Computer Architecture

3.7 Operating system The OS (Operating System) is responsible for creating the link between the material resources, the user and the applications (word processor, video game, etc.). When a program wants to access a material resource, it does not need to send specific information to the peripheral device but it simply sends the information to the operating system, which conveys it to the relevant peripheral via its driver. Area 51 ALX Desktop comes with Microsoft Windows 7 Ultimate 64 Bit Version 6.1. This Operating System develops by Microsoft Corporation. Windows 7 uses the concept of jump lists, to organize

recently used files as well as webpage. This Operating System support DirectX 11; which is a collection of application programming interfaces (APIs) for handling tasks related to multimedia, especially game programming and video, on Microsoft platforms. Game developers will be able to create even better-looking games. Game developers should be able to get more out of their product on Windows 7 than any previous version of the operating System. Windows 7 improved system resource handling. Apart from handling resources more effectively, Windows 7 also has Compatibility Mode, which is a part of the system that fools an application into thinking that its really installed with XP SP1 or 2, Vista SP1 or 2. This was an ingenious application to include in the system, which was in part to reduce the potential of the fury that Vista ignited when older programs refused to work with it. If we have problems playing any game, or using any application, simply right click on the desktop shortcut and select Troubleshoot Compatibility. We can either let the system select the previous version automatically. Windows 7 works quicker, better, more intuitively and less intrusively than its predecessors. It is more much more stable and offers many more tweaking option then any of previous versions.

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Currently there are various types of PCs components in the market. But to obtain a high performance PC, it need quiet a lot of money. Please refer to Table 1.0 for details:

COMPONENTS

NAME

PRICE (RM)

CPU

Intel Core i7-980X Processor Extreme Edition http://images.lowyat.net/pricelist/viewnet.pdf

3500

Storage Media

Primary Storage - 160GB Intel X25-M SSD Raid 0 http://images.lowyat.net/pricelist/viewnet.pdf

1300

Storage Media

Miscellaneous Storage - WD Caviar Black 2 TB http://images.lowyat.net/pricelist/czone.pdf

500

Motherboard & I/O ports

Intel Desktop Board DX58SO http://www.lelong.com.my/intel-extreme-series-desktopboard-dx58so-lga1366-i7-processor-cpu-70145208-201010-Sale-P.htm

800

System memory

Kingston's KHX1600C9D3K3 X 3 Unit http://forum.lowyat.net/topic/987429

1300

Sound subsystem Video subsystem Operating system

Realtek ALC889 8-Channel High Definition Audio. Built in component with motherboard

GeForce GTX 580 X 2 http://images.lowyat.net/pricelist/viewnet.pdf Microsoft Windows 7 Ultimate 64 Bit http://images.lowyat.net/pricelist/viewnet.pdf Table 1.0

4000

650

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4. Problem Identification and Suggestion

This seems that we almost acquire an outstanding gaming PC, but there are several things need to be resolve. When the system in maximum usage, it will cause heat and will effect to the performance or worst. For example, lets see to the CPU; Intel Core i7-980X Processor Extreme Edition is the processor with over clocking enable. Over clocking is the process of running a computer component at a higher clock rate (more clock cycles per second) than it was designed for or was specified by the manufacturer, usually practiced by enthusiasts seeking an increase in the performance of their computers. During the over clocking user can customize how the amount of clock speeds up to 4.00 GHz. But the temperature will bounce off around 80 degrees. When this situation occurred, the system is no longer stable and maybe result system crash. This is the critical occurrence prior to perform over clocking process. The right solution is to replace all the conventional cooling system with the high-performance CPU liquid cooling. Liquid cooling is essentially a radiator for the CPU inside of the computer. Just like a radiator for a car, a liquid cooling system circulates a liquid through a heat sink attached to the processor inside of the computer. As the liquid passes through the heat sink, heat is transferred from the hot processor to the cooler liquid. The hot liquid then moves out to a radiator at the back of the case and transfers the heat to the ambient air outside of the case. The cooled liquid then travels back through the system to the CPU to continue the process.

5. Advantage and Disadvantage

The computer has contributed to our lives in many beneficial ways. The computer is a good entertaining place where people can play games. Many people enjoy playing the computer game during free time which makes them satisfy with their computer and the environment of the game. There is various type of computer game in the market nowadays, from the simple games until the high performance games. In order to play the latest game we need a computer system can support the game requirement. As per Table 1.0 (refer to page 9), we can summarize that not every people can afford that kind of system due to too costly. Sometime the price is ridiculous. But that is technology, buy it

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CBCA2103 Computer Architecture

and you feel the new experience. Good about computer is we can obtain knowledge on the latest technology of computer. It is good for us to learn and adapt the technology which is something new for use. For example, if we are assemble a whole computer which means installing components by components. From that we can gain experience on how to assemble the PC and automatically we have learning something from that. It is necessary to know what our objective before build a computer to ensure all the hardware and software are compatible during the execution process.

6. Summarization and Conclusion

Based on this assignment, we have to identify the purpose to build a PC. To build a high end gaming computer, it requires high performance components. The specification of the components also needs to be concern, because there are a lot of types of hardware from market. It requires a good technical knowledge on how to determine the functionality of each component. There are many advantages and disadvantages of computer nowadays. It is depend on ourselves on how to manipulate existing technology. It is interesting to acquire new knowledge and skill from the computer. As we know the computer technology developed rapidly, yet again in a century-20, and sometime we are missed and dont know that the certain technology is existed. But overall, we have to adept all the technologies; it is referring to the revolution of human thinking and the way to do something effectively.

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CBCA2103 Computer Architecture

7. Appendices
Alienware Area 51 ALX Desktop: http://www.dell.com/my/p/alienware-area51-alx/pd Intel Core i7-980X Processor Extreme Edition: http://www.intel.com/consumer/products/processors/corei7-specs.htm http://ark.intel.com/Product.aspx?id=47932 price: http://images.lowyat.net/pricelist/viewnet.pdf Raid level: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Standard_RAID_levels 160GB Intel X25-M SSD overview: http://www.intel.com/design/flash/nand/mainstream/index.htm Price: http://images.lowyat.net/pricelist/viewnet.pdf WD Caviar Black 2 TB SATA Hard Drives specification: http://www.wdc.com/en/products/products.aspx?id=100 Price: http://images.lowyat.net/pricelist/czone.pdf Intel Desktop Board DX58SO: http://www.intel.com/products/desktop/motherboards/dx58so/dx58so-overview.htm Price: http://www.lelong.com.my/intel-extreme-series-desktop-board-dx58so-lga1366-i7processor-cpu-70145208-2010-10-Sale-P.htm Kingston's KHX1600C9D3K3/12GX: http://www.kingston.com/hyperx/products/khx_ddr3.asp Price: http://forum.lowyat.net/topic/987429 Realtek ALC889 8-Channel High Definition Audio: http://www.realtek.com.tw/products/productsView.aspx?Langid=1&PFid=28&Level=5& Conn=4&ProdID=173 GeForce GTX 580: http://www.nvidia.com/object/product-geforce-gtx-580-us.html Price: http://images.lowyat.net/pricelist/viewnet.pdf Windows 7 Ultimate http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows7/products/compare Price: http://images.lowyat.net/pricelist/viewnet.pdf

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